Fine Dining
by goodpenmanship
Summary: Sherlock makes a series of deductions from small observations on a standard night out.


**Fine Dining**

As he passed her they made eye contact. The restaurant bustled with laughing guests but the woman made her way through the crowd to him.

"Detective Sherlock Holmes, I presume?" she laughed before she raised the glass in her left hand and took a drink. "My friends tell me you're quite perceptive. They say your abilities are like a magic trick! Care to make a few deductions about me? I'm dying to see your famous mind in action."

"Looks like you're the perceptive one," laughed Holmes as the woman reached out her free hand and shook his. "Recognizing me from across the room."

"Oh but you're always showing up in the paper," she said. "Anyone that reads about police work knows your face. So, what can you tell me about me?"

The woman gave a bright flirtatious smile.

Holmes squinted for a moment and looked her over. "That's a beautiful watch you have," he said as he gently touched the elegant gold watch on her wrist. "So you're probably wealthy. No husband though, you don't have a wedding ring. The fortune is self-made."

Holmes scratched his chin. "Your dress and your shoes are nothing special. The watch must have been a gift. Scratch that about your wealth, I bet you're a single woman with a friend that gives you gifts." He looked up at the woman's red and yellow earrings. They sparkled in the light of the restaurant. "I bet those earrings were gifts too.

"But you have to be more careful," said Holmes as he pointed to a long cut on the woman's right arm and a small bandage on her left index finger. "Clearly you're accident prone."

Holmes took a step to the side and bumped into a passing waiter. His tray slipped out of his hand and a wine bottle fell towards the woman. Before it could spill on her and crash onto the floor she grabbed it by reflex.

"Nice catch," said Holmes.

Excitement had faded from the woman's eyes. She lazily handed the bottle back to the flustered waiter and took another sip of her drink. "Thank you, Detective," she began, "but I'm not sure you live up to the tales that are spun about you. Have a good night."

The woman walked away as Holmes took a seat at his table.

Holmes picked up the faint scent of Turkish tobacco. The familiar clip-clop of worn shoe soles approached him from behind. He heard the jingle of coins bouncing in a coat pocket.

"Having a good evening, Watson?" Holmes asked without turning around.

"The roast duck's not bad," commented John Watson as he sat down next to Holmes. A thin line of smoke rose from the cigarette resting between his lips.

"I see you still haven't bought a new pair of shoes," Holmes said to his oldest friend. "And I can smell your cigarette from across the room."

Watson ignored him and blew out a ring of smoke. "I saw you talk to that woman. Your observations were especially weak. I think you've had a little too much to drink."

"Oh please, Watson," snorted Holmes. "I can read that woman like a book. She's a violinist for the Redmask Orchestra that just came across a large fortune."

"Oh?"

"When we shook hands I could feel slight blisters on her fingers. That along with the light bruise on her neck where the violin is always placed reveals she is a musician."

"How do you know she plays for the Redmask Orchestra?"

"Her new watch and earrings," said Holmes. "There are no tan lines on her wrist and the watch gleams like new so we can deduce she just bought it, but the time is wrong by two hours. Didn't you read the paper this morning? The Redmask Orchestra just got back from a concert in Warsaw, a city in a time zone two hours off from our own. She didn't adjust the time yet. Not to mention the earrings are clearly from Warsaw. The craftsmanship is obvious and the colors correspond with their flag."

"Why not amaze her with all those deductions drawn from just a touch and a quick glance?" asked Watson.

"I'm not a magician," said Holmes. "I don't do 'magic tricks' for some woman's amusement."

"You're ridiculous, Holmes," laughed Watson.

"I'd keep an eye on that woman," said Holmes. "Didn't you hear about the jewelry heist in Warsaw two days ago?"

Watson chuckled. "You think she had something to do with the robbery? You told me she was just there to play music."

"She played music, but she also had a hand in the theft. It's obvious from her cheap dress and shoes that she didn't have enough money to buy earrings and an expensive new watch until recently. Anyone that neglects to correct their watch on the long train ride from Warsaw to London clearly has something else much bigger on their mind than the time of day.

"The police report from the robbery identified an acrobatic, masked, female gunwoman. We saw she was agile when she maneuvered through this crowded dining hall without spilling her drink and when she passed my dexterity test."

"Test?"

"I knocked the bottle of wine out of that waiter's hand on purpose. She was quick enough to react and catch it with a drink in her hand. That takes grace.

"In the report it read that while chasing her, a policeman cut her arm with a glancing gunshot but she escaped. If you recall, her arm was injured. She also had a bandage on her left index finger. I believe she fired her own gun and pinched her finger on the trigger."

"I still don't think it was her," said Watson. "It's too farfetched, even for you."

Holmes chuckled. "I'm too hungry to care. I didn't bring money tonight but judging by the sound of coins in your pocket you can afford to pay for us both. Looks like your new shoes will have to wait. Now, when's the waiter getting back with my roast duck?"

1


End file.
